5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain
by Ranunculus
Summary: Heartbreak is never easy to deal with. Unrequited NaruHina, slight SasuHina.
1. Step One: Cry

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_Heartbreak is never easy to deal with._

**5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain**

_Step One: Cry_

There was something about crying that Hinata Hyuuga never liked… the wetness on her face, the puffiness of her eyes, the stuffiness of her nose, and the general feeling of self-pity. She didn't like it… So why was she doing it? Simple.

She told him how she felt…

And he didn't return her feelings.

"I… I… I love you, Naruto-kun!" She had forced herself to blurt out the words, quick and blurred… Naruto didn't understand and she had to repeat herself.

"I s-said that I… that I love you." She was dizzy, her world spinning, the floor tilting as she tried to remain conscious… just long enough to hear his response. Even if he didn't return her feelings, that would be okay… wouldn't it?

God! Why was he taking so long to answer! Hinata dazedly watched him scratch the back of his head rather awkwardly. She watched as he wiped his hands on his sides and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. His eyes looked dry and… not happy. His cheeks were pale and his mouth was set in a confused frown.

"Ah… Hinata, I," He struggled, hesitated and Hinata could almost feel it coming, "I don't…" Naruto inhaled, then exhaled and Hinata tried to do the same.

"_I'm sorry."_ Hinata's ears heard him, but it took a while to sink into her chest. She laughed awkwardly and nervously, not really sure what else to do.

Hinata ran.

Naruto didn't chase her.

She ran all the way to her team's training ground and fell on the grass in a pathetic lump. She stayed there, breathing.

In…out…in…out…

Then the tears came. Running down her face silently as she continued to breathe.

In…out…in…out…

She began sobbing, choking on air, not being able to fill her lungs fast enough or maybe she did too fast, Hinata didn't know. She didn't care.

All there was to focus on was the water running off her face and the aching in her chest.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The idea for this hit me while I was delirious from lack of sleep… So, if you don't think it's spectacularly written, then I don't blame you.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Step Two: Acceptance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain**

_Step Two: Acceptance_

It had been rather awkward to say the least. Having Hinata Hyuuga home all the time, listening to her weep in her bedroom, having to go in and look at her sorry self to ask if she was going to eat with them. She always declined. Neji didn't think Naruto's rejection would upset her this much, and he was considering whether he would have an easier time trying to give a pep talk to Hinata or just going out and slapping some sense into the blonde himself.

…Slapping Naruto sounded just a tad more enticing than going to console his depressed, crying, probably irrational cousin.

So he decided to set out to do just that.

Neji was just about two feet from the door when he heard a soft and almost hoarse voice call his name. Not sure whether or not he really heard it, he turned around slowly and tried not to gasp from the sight.

"M-Miss Hinata…" Neji stumbled slightly, trying to turn and fully face the younger girl. She hadn't been out of her room in days… and it was noticeable.

"Are you going out?" She asked and Neji twitched.

"Ah… Well… Did you need something?" He asked slowly and carefully.

Hinata hesitated, "Well… I… I'm kind of hungry… Would you join me for some lunch?" Neji's eye twitched, but the rest of his face gave away no indication of his current mental distress.

"Of course."

Neji followed Hinata into the kitchen where she began filling a kettle with water for tea. He sat silently at the table and watched her warily. Women could be fickle and irrational and emotional… in other words, they could be a real mess. Such messes that Neji preferred avoiding.

"So how have you been, cousin?" Hinata asked softly as she settled down on the opposite side of Neji. He continued to eye her cautiously. Hinata blinked.

"Fine." He dare not ask how she's been. Even if it were the polite thing to do he dare not for fear of starting another water works.

"I've been better…" He blinked when Hinata spoke. Neji didn't say anything as Hinata spoke for herself again, "I'd like to go out. After lunch… if you would escort me."

Hinata hasn't needed an escort since she was a child… but both Neji and Hinata knew he couldn't decline.

"Of course."

After lunch Hinata brushed her hair, washed her face, and put on a clean kimono.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it, cousin?" Hinata asked in her small, sweet voice and Neji nodded curtly. It was clear he was tense. At any moment Hinata could break down again and emotions simply were not his forte.

"I wonder what Kiba and Shino are doing right now…" Hinata looked up at the sky, her eyes calm and her mouth set in a straight line. She didn't look grim, but she didn't necessarily look pleasant either. Thankfully everyone seemed to be minding their own business as Hinata and Neji traveled further through the village and came to a part that was less crowded. Only few much less popular vendors loitered about, fanning themselves in the shade of their paper umbrellas rather than trying to draw in customers.

"Sakura-chan, I know you're hungry!" Neji tensed and he nearly panicked as Naruto's obnoxious voice suddenly filled the air. Hinata froze for a second then cautiously looked around the corner…

And there he was. The so-called light of her world… She watched silently and Neji didn't try pulling her away.

"Well…"

"C'mon, Sakura-chan!" Naruto begged and Sakura gave a sly smile.

"Fine," She began walking away as Naruto cheered and followed her, "But you're paying."

"Aw, b… but, Sakura-chan!" The pair happily walked toward Ichiraku.

Both completely oblivious to the fact they were watched.

"…Miss Hinata…" Hinata barely heard as Neji called her name.

She was quiet for several seconds, "I see."

"Miss Hinata?" Said girl turned to face him suddenly. Her eyes were focused and clear, not red and watery. Her mouth set in a thin line.

"Let's go home." She said in a voice that was firm and not shaky. Neji nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't really have anything to say about this, actually. I… guess I hope you enjoyed? Please review? Go look at my profile? Poll??

Thanks for reading.


	3. Step Three: Smile

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain**

_Step Three: Smile_

They talked. They whispered. They stared.

Hinata was aware of it all, and there was nothing she could do about it.

After all it had been near weeks since they had last seen the Hyuuga heiress, so of course they would be curious.

"Hinata! Where have you been? We missed you during training!" Kiba bounded up to her, friendly worry on his face and Hinata nodded apologetically.

What excuse did she have?

_My heart was broken and I spent all my accumulated time off being pathetic in my room._

That didn't sound very noble.

"Ah, well… you just needed some time off, ne?" Hinata nodded weakly and the pair walked over to a large table that held almost the entire rookie nine, minus a few.

When her team had invited her to a simple gathering amongst their friends, she agreed a little reluctantly. She decided it was time to get out of the house and face the world again, but in that same world lived the man who had broken her heart not too long ago.

They were to meet at this nice, normally quiet little restaurant in Konoha for some celebration? Was that occasion? Hinata didn't remember. She sighed thankfully when she realized that Naruto and Sakura were not present.

She sat there quietly and contentedly, listening to Kiba chatter on about how much Akamaru's been eating lately, and unbeknownst to her…

A small smile was curling her lips, and also unbeknownst to her, dark eyes watched that smile closely.

It was then that she heard him, loud and boisterous as ever, walking into the restaurant. Was she ready to see him again? Was she ready for this? As he walked through the door, Hinata decided she was not ready and panicked.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming!" Naruto and Sakura made their way to the head of the table, Sasuke on Naruto's side and Ino on Sakura's. "I wanted all of you to hear when I announced this!" The table was silent in anticipation, not that anyone was actually _clueless_ as to what Naruto wanted to announce.

"Sakura-chan has finally agreed to be my girlfriend!"

…Is that what all this was about?

Was Hinata even supposed to be here then? Naruto had been the one to call for this gathering, after all… Hinata… hadn't been invited by Naruto…

Hinata needed to get away. She was grateful for everyone who stood and went to congratulate the new couple for it provided a screen for her escape. She felt nauseous and weak. Her skin suddenly felt moist and tight, flushed. The exit was just a few feet away, she was almost there… so close…

"Hinata, where're you going?"

Kiba. Kiba, Kiba, Kiba… Why did he interfere?

The room grew silent. She knew they were all watching her. If she didn't turn around to face them soon… Hinata braced herself. She took a deep breath, plastered a pathetically fake smile on her face as she turned to face her friends.

It was that moment, that Hinata's eyes met with the same blue ones she had been avoiding for weeks.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, this story is officially finished, meaning that I have the rest written out and am just waiting for a few days to upload the last two chapters. I had actually already written it all out, but when I went to upload, something weird happened and it didn't show the full story, so I had to rewrite it and try again because my laptop is a douche bag.

Thanks for reading.


	4. Step Four: Closure

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain**

_Step Four: Closure_

In all honesty, Naruto had also been trying to avoid Hinata for fear of this awkward encounter… And at his own party. He had purposely left her out, because he was afraid of what would happen. He glanced at Kiba. Of course she would come, because _of_ _course_ Kiba would ask her to. But he should have foreseen that. He should have grown a pair and simply asked Hinata to come himself. Now he had to deal with the guilt he would feel for not inviting her in the first place.

Nobody else seemed to notice the strained encounter and Hinata quickly made an excuse about needing some fresh air.

She gasped as soon as she got outside, trying to fend off the dull ache in her chest. Maybe she could run home and no one would notice her missing… Yeah, that was a good plan.

Hinata stood and readied to bolt, but someone grabbed her shoulder before she could fully take off. She whipped around and was shocked to see that it wasn't Naruto _or_ Kiba who had grabbed her…

It was the one and only Sasuke Uchiha's hand who lay on her shoulder.

The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time in Hinata's opinion until finally she tugged away, the contact finally gone. "D-Did you need something, Sasuke-kun?"

"Are you running away?" The way he said it was more of a demand than a question, but Sasuke was just that kind of person.

"I-I wasn't r-running away." Hinata said as boldly as she could. Why should she be afraid of this boy? He was, after all, just a boy.

"Liar." Then again, this boy _was_ Sasuke Uchiha…

"I… I wasn't running away." Sasuke glared at her lightly before he grabbed her hand and led her back into the restaurant. She wondered why he even cared. Since when had the Uchiha been a part of her life? Since when had he known her?

Hinata was led back into Naruto's celebration by Sasuke and she dreaded it. Why couldn't she be more bold? Why couldn't she have the guts to stand up to Sasuke? Why couldn't she be…

Why couldn't she be more like Sakura?

Hinata saw the couple standing at the back of the room, looking at each other sweetly and Hinata deflated.

Of course Naruto would choose someone like Sakura over Hinata.

The girl was fun, kind, strong, and beautiful. All things Hinata was not.

Hinata continued to watch the couple, even if it did break her heart…

Then she began to notice something… the way Naruto looked at Sakura… and the way she looked back at him…

…There was never really any room for Hinata in Naruto's heart.

The moment she came to this realization, the blonde look over at her. He gave her a nervous and weak smile, his eyes guarded…

Hinata smiled back.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm putting up chapter five right after this one. I was busy all day today, prom dress shopping with my cousin.

Okay, so the way I see this is there's a restaurant, and you know how in some restaurants they have rooms designed for big parties? Well, basically Naruto rented out one of those and invited the Rookie 9 to party with him. So don't think their being all loud and happy in the open restaurant.

This is one of my less impressive stories though honestly. If you want a nice, simple, apparently funny one shot, go check out my story Wrong Words. That is ridiculously popular considering it has less than a thousand words. Legend of the Bakeneko is also a one shot, but significantly different than Wrong Words. It's also semi-decent being my second most popular one shot.

_Thank you for reading!_

**P.S. **For those of you reading Metamorphose, go read my profile.


	5. Step Five: Moving On

**Author's Note:** God, I thought I uploaded this a long time ago! Sorry for the wait!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**5 Steps to Forgetting the Pain**

_Step Five: Moving On_

It had been a great party. Hinata had a better time than she has had in a while, and it was good to get out of the house for longer than just a few hours... and she was glad that she went. It gave her a chance to get over Naruto and herself. She inhaled deeply, the cool night air clearing her senses and making her feel more alive than she has in weeks. It was peacefully quiet on her walk home, the dim street lamps lighting her way. Hinata felt herself humming a nameless tune when she thought she had heard footsteps behind her. She stopped humming and listened closely to the sounds around her...

But nothing could be heard aside from crickets chirping and the occaisonal frog croaking.

Hinata continued on her way, this time slightly more cautious and aware of what was happening around her.

Could it be some children playing pranks?

Quite possibly. It was very warm and clear out tonight, but Hinata could swear she only heard one set of footfalls behind her... Heavy footfalls. Masculine footfalls.

"Is someone there?" Hinata's heart raced and her skin felt clammy. She couldn't see anyone or anything that could possibly be the owner of the footsteps... She had to remain calm, she had to remain-

"Hyuuga." Hinata let out a startled yelp as she spun around, nearly tripping herself in the process. So much for being calm...

Her eyes adjusted and she let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, Sasuke-kun... Y-You scared me! Haha..." Hinata trailed off as she caught her breath.

Sasuke was eyeing her curiously as he mentioned, "Isn't it a little dark for you to be out alone?"

Hinata froze. _What was that supposed to mean?_

"I'll walk you home." Sasuke started walking in the direction of the Hyuuga compound and Hinata fidgeted.

"Er, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to do that. I'll be okay..." She stopped when Sasuke sent her a mildly annoyed glare.

"I said, _I_ will _walk_ you _home_." Sasuke continued walking, not bothering to see if Hinata were following him or not.

"Okay!" She had to run a little to catch up with his long strides, but once she did he seemed to slow down a little. The walk was silent and Hinata wondered what Sasuke was doing around here in the first place. Wasn't his apartment on the other side of the village? Why go through the trouble? After a few more moments Hinata decided to let it go and took a deep breath of the cool air again. Glancing up at Sasuke she was surprised that she didn't feel at all intimidated now. Like this was something normal.

Well, if Neji were here, he would have walked her home, so... maybe she was comparing Sasuke to Neji?

But... maybe not. There was an air around Neji that was more pompous, and while that feeling had faded in the past couple years, it was still _there_. Sasuke... while he could be arrogant... at this moment...

She didn't feel inferior to him. Hinata hadn't realized the small smile she was wearing, and she also hadn't realized that Sasuke had taken to watching her.

When the Hyuuga gates came into view Hinata was a little disappointed, just a little! Now she'd have to endure strange looks and possibly some odd questions from Neji and Hanabi...

"Thank you for bringing me home, Sasuke-kun." Hinata turned and gave him a warm smile. Sasuke didn't say anything as he nodded and watched her for a bit longer.

Was it normal for him to stare at people like that? Hinata felt her cheeks burn as she struggled not to choke on the thick blanket of tension that had decided to surround her suddenly. Sasuke brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and walked away. Stunted and dazed, Hinata continued into her house, wondering if that had really just happened. Hanabi ran up to her sister and gave her that same strange look Hinata had been expecting.

"Onee-chan, what's that behind your ear?" Hinata, confused, reached up and felt something soft. Grabbing it, she gave it a hard look before blushing. "Is that a sumire?" Hinata stammered out an excuse about being tired and ran up to her room before Hanabi could ask anymore nosy questions. Hinata collapsed on the floor behind her bedroom door and tried to calm down... Sasuke... had given her... sumire.

She blushed hard and wondered if it was intentional. There was no way Sasuke could know the meaning of _that_ particular flower, _right_? Right.

Hinata placed it on the table next to her bed and got under the covers for some much needed rest. The flower was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes. And Sasuke was the last thing she thought about before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I looked it up on the internet, and apparently in Japan sumire (violet?) means "Please Love Me" ...I could be totally wrong, so if I am, I apologize.

Erhem. So... what are Sasuke's thoughts on this? Ha! I have no idea... There are several things that he might have been thinking through this whole story, like: "She's so cute!" or "Well, now that Naruto and Sakura are together, might as well hook up with this chick." OR! Maybe he's just been eyeing her for some time and has finally decided to make the first move? I think I'll just leave that up to you to interpret. Plus, I think Sasuke would be kind of shy about this sort of thing since he would be so used to girls throwing themselves at him! Kind of like in one of my other stories, _Wrong Words_. Have you read that? You might like it. Yay for self-advertising!

Totally lame ending, I know... but I kinda like it. I was worried that I wouldn't like it, but I actually do! Wow, I'm a little surprised since I didn't exactly have any high expectations for this story, either.

_Thank you so much for reading!_


End file.
